homePCnetwork - Gigabit article

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Giga So Fast: The Ins and Outs of Fast Networking

Wireless networking is for the birds. Slow birds that is. If you want fast, reliable home networking, stick with wired networks. That's what we've said for some time now and we still say it.

With all of the hoopla over wireless networking, some may wonder why we bother talking about wired networking -- whether it's Ethernet, Fast Ethernet or even now gigabit (1000 Mbps). Here in a nutshell is our answer: speed. That's right, network speed. The ability to transfer large files, play multiplayer games and share multimedia devices between computers as fast as possible.

Frankly, we don't quite get why nearly every other aspect of computing is all about speed -- processors, graphics, hard drives -- but people seem willing to put up with dreadfully slow wireless or other network speeds. Obviously, the answer is for a "little" convenience; that is, people think not running a few wires between computers is worth the trade-off for slow network speeds. Or perhaps the marketing dollars spent by some companies has convinced consumers that wireless network are actually easier to set up than wired networks.

Now, clearly, there are times when wireless networking makes a lot of sense, particularly for laptops, giving them the ability to roam throughout a house or even outside and still be connected to the network. For many other applications, though, wired is the way to go. And with the latest wired networking speeds for home now hitting 1000 Mbps, or gigabit, speed, the advantages are tremendous.

That's why we felt compelled to write this article. A short "how to" on building a gigabit home network, and, along the way, do some comparative tests to show just what a difference a wired network can make.

Let's get started

To get started, we needed some gigabit networking gear so we turned to our good friends at ConnectXpress. Here's the gear we collected for our project:

Gigabit switch - for connecting two or more computers, the best option is a network switch and, of course, we needed one that handled gigabit networking speeds. We chose the inexpensive 5-port switch (Zonet ZFS3105) available from ConnectXpress for just $115. Yes, you could just use a crossover cable between machines (and ConnectXpress has those too) if you're just networking two computers, but the switch provides future growth. And, trust us, you'll be adding computers to your home network so you'll want that growth capability. The Zonet is a small switch with 5 ports on the back and a double row of LEDs on the front. One row indicates a positive link on that port and turns colors (yellow or green) to indicate 100 or 1000 Mbps speed. The second row flashes to indicate data is being transferred. There's nothing fancy about the switch, but as we'll discuss later, it gets the job done.

Gigabit adapter - many computers, including even inexpensive PCs and most new Macs, include built-in gigabit network adapters. We had just built a media PC from some older parts (more on this later) so we needed an add-in network interface card. Ours was the JetLAN Gigabit network adapter from ConnectXpress for only $30. This is a nifty little card with a hefty heatsink to help with heat dissipation and a full set of LEDs on the backplane (the shiny metal bracket that connects the card to a computer case) that show network speed (10, 100, 1000) and whether there is a positive link, data being transferred and, finally, whether data collisions are occurring (which can slow down or lock up a network connection).

Gigabit bulk cable - if you're going to run cable in your house for a home network, paying a little extra for gigabit rated cable (also known as category 6) is well worth it. Yes, you can get cheaper cable, but the minute you decide to upgrade your network speed, you'll have to run cable all over again. For our run, we chose Cat6 UTP Solid PVC cable from ConnectXpress. At $140 for a 1000-foot roll, it's a bit pricier than category 5e cable (which runs $85 for a 1000 foot roll), but again it will help future proof your network installation..

Gigabit keystone jacks - nothing glamorous here...just the jacks we'll use to connect to the bulk cable. Again, these are best if rated at category 6 speed. We're going to use Cat6 keystone jacks from ConnectXpress.

Gigabit patch cables - these run from the keystone jacks in the wall to the computer or from keystone jack to the switch, depending on the setup. ConnectXpress has a full range of sizes, colors and styles to choose from here. Again, if you want to have reliable gigabit speed networking now or in the future, get the category 6 cables.

Go To Page 2 - Setup, Installation, Performance and Summary

This page last updated 10/17/2004